Madly Twinkling
by EssaTheTwerp
Summary: 'And it's Neville. It's Neville, and she was so sure that he had been dead. She couldn't remember who had screamed such—everything had dissolved into chaos, and Ron—a great gash running across his face, no less—and Hermione were lying cold on the floor, and Harry had been murdered, and suddenly there was a scream, a terrible, awful screech, that formed Neville's name.' One-shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

For _reminiscent-afterthought_. Hope you enjoy it! ;)

Also, written for the Doctor Who Quotes Competition for the prompt, "When we are holding on to something precious, we run. We run and run until we are out of the shadow." Late, I know-but I truly did want to write something for it!

* * *

**Madly Twinkling**

Luna closes her eyes to keep the twinkle from disappearing. That is her greatest fear—the spark that she has, that she is known for—leaving her forever. She needs it, or she will crumble.

She feels someone grab her hand, and stiffens. She should run, or aim a curse at the perpetrator with her wand… but she feels no drive to do so. Everyone is dead. She has nothing left. She wants to sink to her knees and let whatever will happen, happen.

But then the person gripping her hand is gentle, careful to be firm but not harmful, and that doesn't make any sense. Luna has always been intrigued by things that don't make sense—because things that don't make sense usually have a simple explanation—so she opens her eyes to see who this grip belongs to.

And it's _Neville_. It's Neville, and she was so sure that he had been dead. She couldn't remember who had screamed such—everything had dissolved into chaos, and Ron—a great gash running across his face, no less—and Hermione were lying cold on the floor, and Harry had been murdered, and suddenly there was a scream, a terrible, awful screech, that formed Neville's name.

Everything goes blurry after that, a mess of shooting curses at Death Eaters and blinking back the rage. She was a bottle of emotions, swirling and melding against each other, causing fireworks and bursts of color and flaming, twisting rages that she could never afford to let escape.

And here Neville was, alive. A bright, wonderful beam of hope that warmed Luna's insides, cleared her vision, emptied her chest and let her breathe. He was still pulling at her wrist, throwing frantic glances around them and quietly pleading with her to hurry. Luna licked her lips, tasted the dried blood that she was not sure was her own, and then determinedly stepped forward to follow his lead.

* * *

There is no one left but them, and she can't get that out of her mind. The memories of her friends, her father, are always pulsing away, nagging at her conscience and reminding her constantly of how miserably she failed in protecting them.

They run, now. He is all she has left, and she is all that he has left. They fiddle constantly with the radio, in hopes that, maybe, a bigger group of their side survived and escaped Voldemort's clutches and, perhaps, they are starting a new movement. But they never get a signal, and after a while Luna can't stand it anymore and aims a frustrated curse at the device, wishing desolately that there was more hope. She had always thrived and built herself on it… but now Harry was gone and they had no idea how they would go about defeating Voldemort.

They had stolen a muggle tent and, in the fashion briefly described to them by Hermione (and god did it hurt to think about her, dead at Voldemort's feet), cast various protective charms around themselves so they would be safe. Every night, they start out curled up in their respective sleeping bags, squeezing their eyes shut and praying for sleep. Eventually, Neville forcefully evens his breathing out and pretends to go to sleep, and Luna crawls out of her sleeping bag, throws it over them, and shuffles him around until they're both snuggled against each other.

They never stay in one place for too long, for fear of being caught. Occasionally, one of them sneaks into a Wizarding place and snags a newspaper so they can find out what's going on. It always seems like You-Know-Who is gathering more and more control, but he's controlling the paper and what they print, so the two can never be sure.

Other than that, though—they run. They run and run until they are out of the shadow of the Death Eaters. Luna has something precious to hold onto (her Neville), and she couldn't bear to lose him. She would completely disintegrate, and that is her greatest fear.

* * *

Luna first comes up with the idea to cause mayhem when they are striding through the streets of Wizarding Paris, ducking their heads so as not to be spotted. You-Know-Who hasn't taken hold of the government their yet, but that doesn't mean they can afford to be recognized anywhere. With Harry, Hermione, and Ron being dead, Neville and Luna are on the top of the Death Eater's hit list. Ginny's face is plastered right next to theirs on the Wanted posters that litter the streets throughout London, and even though they are countries away Luna can't get the fiery redhead out of her mind. She misses her company almost as much as she misses her father's.

She thinks that if they catch enough attention that, maybe, the resistance will find them. When she confesses her idea to Neville, he reminds her that it will make it all the more easier for Death Eaters to find them, as well. That quiets her for a few days, but when they decide to get away from Paris—they're getting too comfortable, which is never good—she reminds him that they can't just run all their lives. They have to fight back; they have to find a way to beat the evil slowly spreading throughout Europe.

This makes Neville turn and stare at her for a very, very long time. Just as Luna is about to turn away, angry and a bit disappointed, he grabs her and forces his lips onto hers. She stiffens initially (she hadn't expected this reaction), but eventually Luna relaxes into his firm grasp and kisses him back. Her belly is warm and twisted with an emotion she couldn't seem to place. It was very good, though; Luna suspected it had just been too long since she'd felt anything like hope.

And _this_… this was even better than hope.

* * *

Their first act of defiance takes place in Diagon Alley. They have to take drastic measures to sneak in, including making Polyjuice potion and stealing a few hairs from a young Muggle couple. Luna hates to think she is going to cause harm to anyone, but must remind herself they have to do whatever they can to fight the monster threatening all that is good.

They plant the bomb—an instrument that is oh, so woefully _Muggle_ no Death Eater had ever imagined such an attack—outside of an establishment run and attended to by You-Know-Who supporters (and drat, how she hates to call him that—but there is still the dreaded taboo). Luna and Neville buy a few books and then make their way to the exit of Diagon Alley, trying to keep their heads down and look like any other terrified shopper, rushing to get back to the relative safety of their home.

Eventually, Luna digs the hand not being squeezed manically by Neville's into her pocket, finds the little remote control she had felt the weighty presence of their whole trip, and pressed the button on it with no hesitance. A loud explosion sounded behind them, followed by bits of rubble and stone flying all around. They followed the cue of others around them and scream, then Apparate the hell away.

* * *

They try to cause ruckus wherever they can, always with a muggle weapon. They want to show that Wizards are not all powerful, that they aren't better than any other non-magical person on the planet. Soon, stories of their anarchy are being whispered about on the streets, in the shops—wherever a Death Eater isn't to be found, really. They sneak into the Hog's Head for the first time since the Battle of Hogwarts and approach a haggard-looking Aberforth, who is still wiping down dirty mugs with a dirty rag.

Luna thinks he recognizes the twinkle in her eyes, because even though they are heavily disguised and look decades older than they are, he immediately, and discretely, slips them a piece of paper. It has a lone address on it, and after Luna tucks it deep into her robes, she and Neville have only a single drink before taking off again.

Their insides are churning manically as they come to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, a name that sounded oddly familiar but foreign nonetheless. They have waited so long to find a friend, and despite seeing Aberforth earlier, they need to know if a real resistance is in the works. This seems to be the place for it…

Still, they are aware this could well be some elaborate hoax. Perhaps Aberforth was being controlled, or worse. Luna and Neville cast the Disillusionment Charm on themselves and stalk forward, wands out as a House magically forms into front of them.

Neville takes a deep breath and then rings the doorbell, unsurprised when no one answers it for a long while. Finally, a rough voice calls out, asking who's there. Luna offers her and Neville's names without hesitation, knowing that they are not escaping this place without knowing if it belongs to good or evil either way. There is the sound of locks twisting and turning, and then the door is thrown open and they are face to face with Ginny Weasley.

A wounded noise escapes from the back of Luna's throat, and she steps forward automatically, her arms rising to be thrown around her dear friend, when a hand suddenly seizes her throat and tugs her through the door, causing Luna to choke, splutter and grasp desperately at her throat. She feels Neville being pushed in beside her, and then are being crowded against a back wall, wands being pointed at their faces. Luna's eyes narrow in on them, but she doesn't move to defend herself. She knows for sure that she and Neville are safe. She smiles up at Ginny and (her heart skips a beat) a seemingly alive and well Ron, her eyes twinkling madly.

For the first time in a very long time, Luna is not afraid.


End file.
